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I would like to mention that Beverly Boy paid their full balance after about 9 months.

That's a big topic. My take is that unless you are willing to spend big, it's probably not worth it. And, if you are willing to spend big, it's worth doing a real risk assessment for what you are hoping to protect against. In most cases, you'll never know if you are getting value for your money, and it's hard to put a price on the insurance it offers. Most cheap surge protectors offer limited protection that burns out over time. But there's no way of testing whether a surge protector is still good, so you never really know whether your are protected or not. In addition, the most common type of surge that can *really* damage your equipment is a lightning strike, and that is almost certainly beyond the capacity of a cheap surge protector. It's possible to spend more (much more) on better, more reliable surge protection, but you are then looking at a much higher price tag. For small surges — the kind that you are likely to experience in everyday usage powering from a generator, or from significant power swings on mains power — I would trust PSC / Ron's advice. Based on how you've quoted him, the triple play AC adapter sounds like an auto-ranging, switching power supply, and he's right, it will tolerate a wide range of voltages (probably in the range of 90-240V), which covers all the voltage ranges you are likely to encounter in everyday use. It is also almost certainly fused (I doubt they'd get FCC approval without it), so if your input voltage does somehow end up out of spec, the fuse / power supply might fail, but your equipment should be fine. An aside: A power conditioner is definitely unnecessary here. A power conditioner just smooths out the voltage and offers tighter voltage regulation compared to an unknown power source. Given the auto-ranging nature of the PSC power supply, it simply doesn't need power conditioning. There are other power characteristics (mainly, ripple), which *might* matter to audio quality if you happen to be plugging poor quality analogue gear directly into the power supply, but regulating the AC input probably doesn't matter for the majority of the equipment we use in the field. There are several layers of electronic regulation between the AC source and your audio, so if you don't hear a problem, you don't need to fix it. That covers the "cheap" end of the spectrum. It doesn't cover catastrophic situations like lightning strikes, or a truly awful grid failure, where the input voltage may spike to thousands or millions of volts, which in turn could induce circuit-melting current, even for very brief moments. You live in Vancouver like I do, so you can consider the odds of a lightning surge to be miniscule. We very rarely get truly serious lightning storms (I recall one in my lifetime), and if we do, our topography makes it extremely unlikely a strike will get into the mains. That goes double given that most of the time you'll be plugged into a generator that isn't connected to the mains at all. The likeliest source of a lightning surge is a light gets left out in a storm in the open, and that attracts a lightning strike that takes out the whole film set. If a light is left out in those circumstances, the gaffer isn't doing their job ... but it's fair to argue that you might want to protect against gaffer incompetence. Of course, you could also just choose to disconnect and run off battery if you think you are in such circumstances. Beyond that, the other possibilities where surge protection could help are various types of catastrophic failure, either of genny, or something in the mains. None of these are impossible, but they are probably equal in likelihood to a component in the PSC power supply or in your equipment itself failing. Which is to say, the odds are very, very small. Given an expensive enough surge protector, it's possible you could reduce those very, very small odds of failure to very, very, very small. But it's very hard to calculate or guess those odds. So, for me, it comes down to how much am I willing to pay to prevent those very, very small odds? Given the value of my equipment that is actually at risk, (mainly, my recorder, and a few lower value items), I'm not really willing to pay $500+ (5%) to protect $10,000 of equipment against such a vanishingly small possibility. $500 may feel small for peace of mind, but it doesn't feel like good value to me. Maybe I just like to live dangerously. On the other hand, if i were to identify a specific risk that I might need to protect against (plugging into boat power, perhaps?), that calculus could change for me, and I might be willing to pay to insure against that specific risk. But I have yet to encounter such a risk, and I'm truly having trouble coming up with examples of what that risk could be. Maybe other, more paranoid people can enlighten me. Anyway, that's my $0.02. My words are cheaper than even the cheapest surge suppression.

Hi! Had a simple question about best practices for powering a small cart set up. I’ll be powering a 833 bag on my mini cart with a PSC triple play as my bds - I messaged Ron at PSC a while back asking if he recommended running the triple play AC adaptor into a power conditioner or a power bar for additional surge protection. His response was that the power supply provided operates over a wide AC voltage range and there’s no real reason to use a surge protector. I feel like from what I’ve seen from fellow sound mixers, a lot of people like to go into an additional power bar or conditioner for surge protection. Curious as to what best practices other mixers have been doing.

I think just about everyone here is familiar with various light stands, both from our personal use and from spending plenty of time working with gaffers and grips (including the guys in the video you just posted). And has been said, stability outdoors issues matter more when a stand is supporting a light that weighs a lot more than our mics and boompoles, and especially when also supporting softboxes or holding other light modifiers (especially big frames). Get what you're comfortable with, but even when facing windy and tilty conditions I usually use smaller stands than you're considering. A C-Stand (with a sliding leg if needed), a kit stand if I'm flying or walking/hiking a long distance (the 7lb or so weight is a good thing then). I have one junior and a couple baby stands, but those are on rollers so they don't have rocky mountain legs. I end up on hillsides, rocky terrain, vineyards, and in pretty strong wind fairly regularly. And a C-Stand or kit stand with a couple sandbags has always worked for me. Though next time I'm in the mood to spend more money on stands, maybe I'll look for a kit stand with an adjustable leg. My stands are all from Matthews. Some I've had over 20 years, and those I bought used. They're still working and I'm glad that I can get parts (I've replaced a few t-handles over the years, but those breaks were all caused by abuse). American and Modern make great stuff, but I'm fine with Matthews. Anyway, sounds like you're getting something that will work.

San Francisco gaffer Luke Seerveld’s latest video, with fellow gaffers Alan Steinheim and Shane Louis: Basic Concepts of Lighting Exterior Interviews They’re on grass. Not a C-Stand in sight.

Will also hold on to my Cantar X3 for what I hope is many years to come, also invested in Scorpio as a second rig. Both great, varying strengths.

Just want to clarify that I haven’t said that C-stands are unusable outdoors. In fact, I’ve used them outdoors myself, on hard surfaces, such as concrete or a wooden deck, in calm air. What I said is this: "I do expect there to be a breeze on occasion, and to be on rough ground, wet ground, rock, gravel, grass, etc. I am not comfortable using a C-stand on those kinds of surfaces, especially around people who aren’t familiar with how C-stands behave." In the 2023 Adorama video below, NY photographer and MAC Group Creative Director Ab Sesay provides an overview of stands. At 8:50, right after discussing C-Stands, he discusses Beefy Baby Stands. Looks like he agrees with you that they “check all the boxes”. Among other things, he says: "These are great when you’re going to be working outdoors because they are more stable than a C-Stand..."

Yeah that’s exactly why I did mine. To be able to use an SNA600 up on a mast to transmit.

Hi, can anyone point me to the right direction with this idea: I am searching for an Sony L type/NP-F battery "extension cable," featuring a smaller form factor dummy NP-F battery on one side with a ~40 cm cable connected to an NP-F plate on the other side providing pass-trough/unregulated power. I jumped on an opportunity to build a lower cost Sound Devices 633 bag kit in an Orca OR-30 bag. Harvesting power off of an enviable collection of NP-F970 of mine by using the two terminals on the back of the 633 means the recorder can run for 12+ hours easily, but gets bulky and does not fit as nice into the bag. So I wanted to move the large batteries into another compartment via an "extension cable". It woudl be great if output from the dummy batteries remains unregulated (unlike what many NP-F plate offer) so the voltage reading reamins accurate on the recorder. Yes, yes, a BDS with 2045-styled batteris would be the an by-the-book solution, but also keep a larger hole in the accountant's books. Unless any of the members is willing to aprt with a battery kit in Europe ... Anyway, any suggestions?

Ha. I did it the other way around; only the receivers not IEM receivers, but in my bag. I use them as talent wireless. My bag is usually on a small vertical cart. In that case, if needed, I use sharkfins and so I need the SMA to wire up the receivers to the antennas. I suppose if the transmitter antennas got damaged, I'd do the SMA mod then, just to make it easy to replace in the future. But from our expert Larry, there is no transmitting advantage having the mod for talent transmitters. But then, your using them as IEM transmitters, then that would make sense as you can remote the antenna from the cart.

Thanks, very helpful. Matthews makes two versions of the Beefy Baby Stand. Your link is to the 12.3', 13.5lb version. The 8.5’, 12.5lb version (Matthews Beefy Baby Stand) is on my short list and B&H has it on display in the store.

Just my 2 cents here, I’m with everyone else that a C-stand is perfectly usable outside and with the weight of the boom sway shouldn’t be a problem. Clearly you disagree with this, so I’ll suggest a beefy baby stand, you mentioned it at one point, checks all the boxes. Little larger than a C-stand, stable, has a Rocky Mountain leg, has a baby pin. The digital combo is still more stable but they are large at the end of the day. Seems like overkill to me but it is a solution for sure. https://www.msegrip.com/products/hollywood-beefy-baby-triple-riser-br-with-rocky-mountain-leg?srsltid=AfmBOoqqvxDn77gpujQfjA7lfIX0DsGsvJ1TGsrzMoISfE0IQHopRUc9

I only did my transmitter. Never really understood why bother with the IEM receivers unless you’re nuts about storing them in a certain case or something.

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I'm a huge fan of Wandrd's waterproof camera bags: https://www.wandrd.com/products/prvke?variant=39289416089680 I have all my essentials (mainly, wires & accessories) in this backpack, and I can hike with it when I'm out in the field. I can even boom with it on the run if absolutely necessary, though it does restrict my shoulder movement a bit (as any backpack would). Pricey, but one of the best investments I've made.

Between B&H and Adorama, it looks like I may be able to see the Matthews stands on my list, as well as others, in store. The two stores aren’t far apart, and they reopen on Sunday. Unfortunately AbelCine orders, but doesn’t stock, Matthews stands.

$50/per. USPS flat rate ship to me with all parts and return label inside. 2 weeks turnaround time. Northern Cal.

If you ever come around to doing it yourself, this is the only video I know that shows how to do it correctly. Mainly, he uses the right connector. Many videos use a different connector, making the job more difficult and not as neat. If you still don't want to do it, take it to an electronics repair shop and give them this link.

Thanks very much. Matthews makes two Baby Digitals. The lighter of the two is Matthews Aluminum Lightweight Digital Baby Stand (Black, 12.9’). It sounds like you may be talking about this one: Matthews Digital Triple Riser Sky-Hi Baby Stand - 13.5' (4 m) Minimum Height: 4’2” (127cm) Maximum Height: 13.6’ (414cm) Footprint: 50” (127cm) Weight: 20lbs (9kg) I’m curious about these stands and hope to have a look at them at B&H or Adorama. That said, the minimum and maximum heights are quite a bit taller than I need. Matthews’s Monitor Stand weighs 17lbs, but at 6’ has less than half the maximum height. American Grip’s 2-rise Baby Stand, at 14.25lbs, has a maximum height that’s 4’2" shorter, and a 45” footprint. On paper, I’m more inclined toward those, but I haven’t ruled out alternatives. Next step is to check out some of these stands in person 😀 I do think that it’s helpful to keep in mind that we’re talking about booming a carbon fibre pole that’s maybe 10’ long with a 6” pencil mike at the end.

I've never had a C stand fail in wind or otherwise in 21+ years, but the next step is a baby digital. Which is bigger and heavier, but more stable and it has a rocky mountain leg.

Hi Documentary Sound Guy, I’ve made a decision and I’ll be checking out a number of stands in person in the coming days. I’m enjoying my morning coffee, and as Matt suggested above I’m about to speak with AbelCine about what they have in stock. I haven’t responded to the views that you hold, or to your characterization of mine, and I’m not going to start now. Might be an interesting discussion, but I just want to address a need. Cheers

anyone use a drybag backpack for bring all your booming essentials to work? been considering switching to something like that.

I am attaching a photo from my last school day (I'm studying this subject in Viljandi!), but since this is an educational photo, I just hope the school allows it, and since there is only one microphone in the photo, hopefully, it’s OK. It's actually a ribbon microphone from the same company, take a look at the brand logo. 🙂

To be clear, I didn't say you were wrong. I asked what your rationale was, and you gave it. As a response to the video you posted, I'll quote what I actually wrote: My opinion stands. That video is comparing a Combo stand to a C-Stand, which is significantly larger and heavier than a C-Stand. Since you want something more stable than a C-Stand, by all means, invest in a Combo stand. But, I don't think any of the Baby stands you are considering offer the same kind of stability. They are all going to be more or less equal to the C-Stand if you ask me. Maybe you find one that is slightly better, in which case, go for it. But it won't be night and day. The sway test isn't particularly relevant for a one-pound load (boom) flying at 7 feet. How heavy the load is absolutely matters here; a boom isn't going to create that kind of inertia if it starts moving (and it will flex and move a bit). And you will never fly the boom at 12-16 feet the way you would a light. So, yes, that part of the test kind of does only apply to heavy lights. Beyond that rigidity is mostly a function of the diameter of the central pole; the Combo stand is wider, therefore much stiffer. The Baby stands you are looking at will flex just as much as the C-Stand. The fundamental stability of any stand, C-Stand, Baby, or Combo, is a function of how wide the legs are spread, the centre of gravity, including the load, and how much the load is cantilevered / imbalanced. A baby stand might have a slight advantage in leg spread (depending on the stand and how it is set up; if you snug in the legs, you eliminate that advantage), but it has a significantly higher centre of gravity than a C-Stand. That low centre of gravity is why, even though he can push the light with his pinky, it doesn't immediately overbalance, and falls back to centre once he lets it go (even considering the fact that he's pushing the light at the stand's weakest point, in the gap between the two smallest legs). A light stand with a similar leg spread to the C-Stand would take more force to move, but would reach its tipping point sooner because it has a higher centre of gravity. And it's easier to keep the centre of gravity low when putting sandbags on a C-Stand because of how it's designed. Cantilevering is by far the biggest concern for a boom pole, because a boom is fundamentally imbalanced. C-Stand or Baby, it's absolutely essential to mount the boom outwards over one of the legs of the stand (the big leg in the case of the C-Stand). You can counteract the cantilevering by adding a counterweight, but that raises the overall centre of gravity, so you trade load balance for centre of gravity. In the circumstances you are planning for (7' height, 10' boom extension), I don't tend to think that trade-off is worth it, so I usually run without a counterweight, and keep a sandbag on the base. I generally find one sandbag sufficient, two if I'm outdoors in wind or if I'm running an unusually long boom. I've done a LOT of interviews this way. The one clear advantage I can think of that a baby stand has over a C-Stand is that the legs are equal length, which means it is more flexible when the rocky-mountain leg is in use. A rocky-mountain leg has to be oriented uphill, and this is rarely the direction you want the boom to be. Since the rocky-mountain leg on a C-Stand is also the big leg, that limits its use on rough terrain. That said, I don't think I've ever shot an interview on terrain that rough; generally I can just dig the legs into the ground a bit to correct for any lean. But, even with a Baby stand, you still need to have the boom over one of the legs, so you are still quite limited in how you can place the stand. It's just not quite as bad as the C-Stand. One other thing you should consider is material. A steel C-Stand will be much more stable than an aluminum baby stand because of its weight ... until you add sandbags. A steel baby stand is probably much closer to a steel C-Stand, though I'd bet the average C-Stand still weighs more than the average baby stand. I strongly suggest not using either without a sandbag. If you intend to run without sandbags, I'd say a Combo stand or heavier is an absolute must. You need that weight to be somewhere. Whether it's in a stand or a sandbag is up to you. Long story short, you've already said you are willing to pay in size and weight to get more stability than a C-Stand, so if that's the trade-off you want to make, you should make it. To do that, you need a combo-stand; none of the baby stands on your list are going to be better than a C-Stand to the degree that you want. Not coincidentally, that's also the stand that is being compared in the video that you posted. The only combo-stand on your list is this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/600615-REG/Avenger_A1035B_A1035B_Combo_Alu_Stand.html Buy the 11.5' version; it's legs are much longer, so it's base will be wider and more stable than the 6.5' version. It's aluminum, so I doubt it's quite heavy enough to truly trust without a sandbag, but at 15 lbs, it should be much more stable than the rest of the stands on your list.

I’ve explained in this thread that my objective outdoors is to mount my boom pole on a stand that approximates a tripod. Six posts up, I said that my initial concern about the Matthews Monitor Stand was the roller stand design. That’s why I go on to say that I want to look at the stand in person, and find out what happens to the shape and the footprint when I make the leg angle steeper. I’ve been told that my problem with C-stands and relatively flat roller stands is simply wrong. I should use a C-Stand and, if needed, a healthy amount of weight. One person above suggested as much as 30-40lbs. Earlier this evening, I happened to come across a video by an Australian named Andrew Lock. He has a YouTube channel called Gaffer & Gear. Despite his channel being pretty niche, he has 55,000 subscribers. The reason is that a lot of people think that Lock knows what he’s talking about. This is his business website: https://www.andrewlocklighting.com.au I’m hoping that Lock’s video might satisfy people that there are defensible reasons for my decision, even if people think that I’m wrong. If someone wants to believe that C-Stands are more stable than baby and combo stands, I’m not here to disagree. I just want to buy a stand that meets my specs rather than spend my time defending my specs. Lock uses a heavy light to illustrate the basic principles that he’s talking about, but what he says is not just about heavy lights.

Guess no answers means nobody does these anymore? Bummer.